How One Charity Is Helping Children With Cancer Look Like Disney Princesses

Anyone in need of a reminder that humanity isn't spiraling down the proverbial drain need look no further than this Alaskan charity. Cosmopolitan reports that The Magic Yarn Project, a charity started in 2015, is crafting Disney princess wigs for children diagnosed with cancer. The result? A pretty magical creation for kids going through some tough times.

Thanks to the help of over 3,000 volunteers, the Magic Yarn Project has donated more than 4,000 wigs to kids all over the world, spanning 29 different countries. It all started with nurse Holly Christensen, the charity's cofounder. She made her first wig after her friend's child was diagnosed. Since she had spent some time in oncology, she knew that chemotherapy could make patients' hair fall out and that it could make scalps too sensitive for more traditional wigs. That's why she opted to make a wig out of yarn.

"I thought she would enjoy a Rapunzel yarn wig, since I knew that losing her hair would likely be difficult," Christensen told Cosmo.

After she saw how much her friend's child liked the wig, Christensen enlisted her friends to crochet more and incorporated different Disney princess designs. All of the designs start with a crocheted beanie. From there, volunteers craft various styles to reflect each princess. Belle, Ariel, Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, Aurora, and even Captain Jack Sparrow have been past designs. For any patients not feeling the Disney magic, there are Spider-Man and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, too.

Christensen adds that the beanie wigs are actually really easy to make, so volunteers don't really need previous experience. She's even enlisted NFL players and military soldiers to the project, who follow instructions posted on The Magic Yarn Project's website.

The charity is always looking for more volunteers, so anyone looking to add some enchantment to a kid's treatment can help out by crocheting, decorating the cards that accompany each delivery, or donating money or materials.